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Mi lura Sent for the Court Magician 
(From O’Lota San and the Diamond Dew Drops) 






































MY 

MAGIC 

STORYLAND 


ky 

NELLIE XL ROWE 

II 



Illustrated by 

MATILDA BREUER 

albertVwhitman 

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CHICAGO 

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Copyright, 1929 

ALBERT WHITMAN 6? CO. 
Chicago, U. S. A. 


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RED AND GOLD LIBRARY 

Red and Gold Stories 
Magic House 
JoH>Li?tle Clown 


MADE IN THE U. S. A. 


©CIA 17262 

DEC -7 !9?g 

















To all young hearts who 
believe in their fairy friends 


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CONTENTS 


rAGE 


Felice and the Hermit Thrush—A Canadian Tale . 13 

The Swedish Twins and the Pigeon-Blood Ruby— 

A Swedish Tale . 20 

The Magic Drop From the Fairy Fountain— 

An Old English Tale . 27 

The Picture Children—A n Art'Land Tale . 36 

O’Lota San and the Diamond Dew-Drops—A Japanese Tale. . . 53 

Mary Maltese and Her Wonderful Plan— 

The Friends'in'TJeed Tale . 64 

The Fairies and the Earth Child—A French Tale . 78 

The Enchanted Island—A n Ocean Tale . 93 

How Santa Claus Lost His Whiskers— 

A Santa'Claus'Land Tale . 103 

The Angel of the Silver Heart—A Flobk'Heart Tale . Ill 


9 































































































































































LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Miura sent for the Court Magician.Frontispiece 

They often went to school on their snowshoes:. 12 

The little rabbits would jump into the air and frisk about. 15 

Only in Sweden can the lovely wild berries be found such as the 

twins were seeking. 23 

Little Boy was left in the garden to play alone. 29 

The fairy Lily climbed into the yellow tulip. 33 

When she opened her eyes, she saw the Princes standing before her 39 

She saw a soft white rabbit and a very handsome young boy. 43 

“O Fairy, please let some more of the Picture Children talk to me.” 47 

Miura and O’Lota San looked nearly alike. 55 

Agatha and her nurse spent many happy hours watching the 

goldfish swim. 65 

The dear little lady tried to keep happy and bright among her 

flowers. 69 

On the seventh day the little company again assembled. 75 

On and on Marie was carried through the air. 81 

He handed each fairy a very small pail. 90 

He stumbled along until he came to a very small house. 97 

He was suddenly aware of a fleck of color moving in the gem. 100 

They decided to stay forever. 102 

Mrs. Santa Claus was working on the dolls. 105 

In a twinkling he had chewed off all of old Santa’s whiskers. 108 

They saw a very old man leaning heavily on a cane. 115 


11 






















They Often Went to School on their Snow shoes 



































































































































MY 



Felice and the Hermit Thrush 
A Canadian Tale 

Felice was a little French-Canadian girl 
whose home was in the country not far from 
the city of Quebec. The winters were so 
cold that she had to dress very warmly and 
she often went to school on her snow shoes. 
The children had many jolly hours skating 
on the river and fishing through holes cut in 
the ice. But best of all was the spring time 
when the snow and ice went away and the 
grass began to turn green and the trees to put 
out their tender buds and blossoms. 

Mademoiselle Fontaine, the school teacher, 
told them a nature story every morning and 
these the children delighted to hear. Some¬ 
times the tale would be about a dear fuzzy 
little animal; and again they would hear 
about the birds. On one particular morning 
the story was about the hermit thrush, the 
little fellow who lives far back in the woods 


13 


14 


MY MAGIC srORTLANP 


and has the most beautiful voice of any of 
the little woodland brothers. The teacher 
told just how he differs from other members 
of the thrush family, how he builds a nest 
of straw, how he is often heard singing his 
very sweetest just at sunset and how very 
hard it is to get a glimpse of him because 
he lives far within the forest and rarely comes 
out to the edge of the wood. 

Now as school closed and the children 
started home with their books under their 
arms, little Felice decided she would go home 
another way and see if she could, by any 
chance, discover the hermit thrush. The 
wood was soon reached and Felice hurried 
on as fast as her little feet would carry her. 
Farther and farther she went into the forest, 
stopping here and there to pick a flower or 
to put some acorns in her little pockets. Once 
she came to a large stretch of mossy ground 
and so noiselessly did she walk that all of a 
sudden she came upon the family of Peter 
Rabbit eating their evening meal. Here were 
Peter and old Mrs. Rabbit together with four 
little cotton-tails and such a good time they 
were having! Old Mr. Rabbit seemed to be 
telling a funny story, for now and then, the 


FELICE A HD THE HERMIT THRUSH 


IS 



The Little Rabbits Would Jump Into the Air and Fris\ About 

little rabbits would jump up into the air and 
frisk about as if they were very much 
amused. Quietly Felice watched them and 
then went on her way to find the hermit 
thrush. 

Finally she came to a little brook and 
stopped to rest awhile. Along the banks 
of the little stream were pretty ferns and 
borders of the lovely blue forget-me-nots. 

“Surely,” said Felice, “away down in this 
lovely spot 1 will hear the little thrush sing.” 

For some time the little girl sat there and 
suddenly, she began to look around and saw 













16 


MT MAGIC STORYLAMD 


that it was beginning to get dark. She 
quickly rose to her feet to hurry home, when 
in the distance she heard a song so sweet that 
all fear left her. Note after note fell from 
the throat of the songster, sweeter even than 
the song of the nightingale, and finally died 
away in the distance. Felice had heard the 
hermit thrush. 

“Now 1 must surely hurry,” said Felice, 
“for my mother will be looking for me.” 

But alas, the more she hurried, the darker 
it grew and try as she would the little girl 
could not find her way out. Felice became 
afraid for she knew that she was lost. Great 
big tears began to roll down her fat little 
cheeks and fall on the ground at her feet. 

Presently the big moon came up over the 
tree tops and if she had not been so afraid 
she would have enjoyed seeing her friend, 
The Man in the Moon, for she often held long 
conversations with him. But now she was 
too much frightened even to speak to him. 
As she looked away in the distance, she saw 
a faint light glowing softly above the vines 
and bushes. Since curiosity soon overcame 
her fear, she walked slowly toward the light 
and as she drew near, heard a very faint 


FELICE AHD THE HERMIT THRUSH 


17 


sound of music. So she kept on going. 
Brighter became the light as she drew nearer 
and all at once she saw a most wonderful 
sight. 

Around a beautiful pot of gold danced a 
band of fairies. Felice had always believed 
in fairies and had always wished that she 
might see them. Here they were with their 
beautiful, gauzy dresses of the loveliest pink 
and blue and green and beautiful little wings 
that looked like the finest of gold lace. Each 
fairy had a golden wand on the end of which 
was a star. Felice wondered why the fairies 
were dancing around the kettle. Nearer she 
came to them and saw standing by the golden 
kettle with a wand a little longer than the 
others, a little woodland elf, stirring with all 
his strength. “What can it be that he is stir¬ 
ring?” said Felice to herself. Then all at once 
she understood. The dancing fairies were 
catching the moonbeams and putting them 
into the kettle. 

Just then one of the fairies saw her. They 
stopped dancing and soon they all gathered 
around her. Felice began to cry again but 
the fairies do not like sadness or crying so 
they quickly wiped away her tears and 


18 


MY MAGIC STORYLAKD 


promised to take care of her. The little elf 
stopped his stirring and began to take some¬ 
thing out of the kettle. To Felice’s surprise 
they were beautiful little moonstones! Felice 
watched him make a nice pile at his feet. 
Then the fairies carried them to the Fairy 
Queen. In her tiny hands she held a silver 
wire and as each fairy brought a stone, she 
strung it on the wire. 

When the last fairy had danced up with her 
moonstone, the Fairy Queen gave the band 
the silver wire strung with moonstones; and 
they all joined hands and danced again. This 
time they danced up to Felice and then— 
wonder of wonders—they fastened the beau¬ 
tiful necklace of moonstones around the little 
girl’s neck. All tears were dried and soon, 
with her little head on her arm, she was fast 
asleep. 

How long she slept there she did not know, 
but all of a sudden she was awakened by a 
light in her face and loud voices. 

“Here she is at last,’’ she heard someone 
say; and soon she was in her mother’s arms, 
while all the neighbors gathered around to 
rejoice over the little lost girl. As she rubbed 
her sleepy eyes, she thought she must have 


FELICE A HD THE HERMIT THRUSH 


19 



How Long She Slept There She Did Hot Know, 

dreamed about the fairies, but around her 
neck she felt the beautiful moonstone neck¬ 
lace made by the fairies from moonbeams. 
This she declared she would always keep as 
her greatest treasure. 













The Swedish Twins and the Pigeon-Blood Ruby 
A Swedish Tale 

Once upon a time in Sweden, the land of 
many lakes and rivers, there lived two little 
girls, Christina and Katrina by name. These 
little twin girls lived with their father and 
mother and an older brother, Carl. 

The Larsons did not live in one of the big 
cities of Sweden, but on a nice farm in the 
country, where the children enjoyed many 
happy times. In the winter time the little 
girls went to school, their golden hair plaited 
in two stiff little braids and their cheeks like 
rosy apples from the cold. Often when the 
weather was rainy their little skirts would 
freeze before they could get home, where 
they would dry out by the fire in the big fire¬ 
place. To make the house comfortable 
against the severe cold, Mr. Larson had built 
double windows, as many of the other farm¬ 
ers did. The children would gather bright 
red berries and evergreens and put in be- 


20 




THE SWEDISH TWIMS 


21 


tween the two pieces of glass, making a 
beautiful picture, both for those passing and 
for the family inside. 

Now in Sweden plenty of timber grows 
and, as the Larsons owned a large tract of 
wooded land, much time was spent in cut¬ 
ting the trees to be sawed into logs and 
floated down the river to be sold. Carl had 
gone with several companions to camp where 
the huge logs were fastened together into 
rafts and made ready for their journey down 
the river. Not knowing just how far he was 
going nor when he would return, he took with 
him a carrier pigeon from the cote at home. 

Carrier pigeons do not differ much from 
other pigeons except for the fact that they 
are trained to fly back home, no matter where 
they are taken. Notes are fastened to their 
legs and these little winged messengers often 
carry news of great importance. Carl had 
taken along one of the pigeons, agreeing to 
send word to his mother as soon as he found 
where he would be located so that she could 
reach him in time of need. 

Now the little girls were out playing one 
day in the woods while the father was cut¬ 
ting trees. All at once they heard a crash 


22 


MT MAGIC STORYLAMD 


and a moan of pain and running hurriedly, 
they found their poor father pinned firmly 
under the fallen tree. Christina decided to 
stay while Katrina ran home as fast as her 
little legs could carry her. She was soon back 
with help. Very carefully they carried the 
father home and when the doctor came from 
the city, he said it would be many months be¬ 
fore their father could work again. 

Anxiously the good mother waited for 
news from her son, but never a word came, 
though weeks had passed since he left home. 
With the father unable to work, the family 
soon began to feel the need of money and 
though the mother was sweet and patient, 
she began to have a look of care on her face. 

One day the little girls went into the woods 
to gather berries. Only in Sweden can the 
lovely, wild berries be found such as the twins 
were seeking. On and on the little girls went 
for they wanted their baskets quite full be¬ 
fore returning home. Farther and farther 
into the forest they searched and being tired, 
they sat down to rest. 

“Katrina, do you think we will ever see 
a fairy?” asked her sister. “Wouldn’t it be 
fun if we could see one now?” 





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24 


MY MAGIC SrORTLAHD 


Just then they heard a queer little noise 
that seemed to come from nowhere. “What 
was that?” said Katrina, her blue eyes getting 
large with wonder. Again they heard the 
voice and looking up in a tree, they saw the 
queerest little old man. Very tiny was he and 
so dried up and wrinkled that the little girls 
thought he must be a thousand years old. 
They listened very closely and this is what he 
said: 

“Wait until dark and then walk about a 
quarter of a mile to where the lilies bloom 
and you shall see the fairies.” 

This was all that he would tell them. Not 
another word would he say. 

The little girls knew that they should be 
going home, for their mother would be wor¬ 
ried if they stayed away until dark. But their 
desire to see the fairies was so great that they 
decided to linger. On they walked, not know¬ 
ing just where the lilies grew, but soon a very 
sweet odor was wafted to them on the air 
and a little farther on they came to a meadow 
filled with beautiful white lilies. 

Now for the fairies! Where should they 
look? For quite a while they wandered 
among the beautiful flowers when all at once 


THE SWEDISH TWIHS 


25 



They Saw a Very Large and Beautiful Lily Growing by It self. 


they saw a very large and beautiful lily grow¬ 
ing off by itself. 

“Let us pick this and take it home,” said 
Christina. 

“All right,” said Katrina, and just as they 
were about to break the stem they heard a 
tiny voice. Looking down they saw a dear 
little fairy. 

“Who are you?” said the fairy. 

And then the little girls told her their story 

_how their father was ill and how their 

brother had gone away with the promise to 



26 


MT MAGIC STORYLAHD 


send word back by the pigeon but that no 
word had ever come. 

When the little girls told her this, the fairy 
seemed greatly excited and calling to her 
companions, soon gathered a large company 
of fairies who began dancing around the lily. 

“My dear little girls,” said the fairy, “how 
glad we are to see you. In the heart of this 
lily is a most beautiful, sparkling, red ruby 
which surely belongs to you. One day some 
cruel hunters were shooting in the woods, 
when all at once a pigeon flew past. There 
was a flash from one of the guns, and down 
came the little white carrier with a message 
on its leg. Just as it fell, we caught the large 
drop of blood from its breast and turned it 
into a ruby. Take this as a present, for the 
message was surely from your brother and 
the ruby will make you rich.” 

And now, whenever we see a pigeon-blood 
ruby, the rarest of all the gems, we must be 
sure to remember the carrier pigeon and the 
little Swedish twins. 



The Magic Drop from the Fairy Fountain 
An Old English Tale 

There was once upon a time a beautiful old 
English garden, in the midst of which was a 
wonderful fountain. When the sun shone 
upon its misty spray a thousand rainbows 
seemed to be winding in and out; and at night 
as the shining drops caught the moonbeams, 
myriads of pearls and diamonds were tossed 
into a jewel heap below. 

Around the fountain grew row after row 
of exquisite pink tulips and in other parts of 
the garden, hidden here and there among the 
shrubbery, peeped blue delphinium, scarlet 
hollyhocks and purple foxgloves. 

Now every day in the pleasant springtime 
came a little boy with eyes as blue as the 
forget-me-nots at his feet, and hair as golden 
as the sunshine. Each morning Little Boy’s 
father would bring him to a seat by the side 
of the shining fountain and leave him to play 
alone. 


27 






28 


MY MAGIC STORYLAHD 


Hither and thither among the flowers the 
butterflies flitted. But Little Boy could not 
chase them as he had seen other little boys 
do. Many a time he had seen his small friends 
starting out with their fishing rods and picnic 
lunches, wishing that he might be with them. 
But he never could join them, because he 
could not walk. 

Now there was something very wonderful 
about this garden that very few people knew 
about. The secret was this: All through this 
garden lived a wonderful fairy band, ruled 
by the loveliest little fairy queen in all of 
Fairyland. 

One bright moonlight night the little queen 
sent her messenger to inform all of her sub¬ 
jects to meet her on the mossy bank under the 
weeping willow tree as the clock struck 
twelve. Here at the appointed time came the 
little people, so noiselessly that not even the 
tiny humming bird whose nest was just above 
could hear them. Just at the stroke of the big 
clock, when the moon was shining its bright¬ 
est, the fairy queen ascended her tiny throne, 
then spoke to her tiny people. 

Now this was why the meeting was called 
—to lay a plan by which Little Boy could 









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30 


MY MAGIC STORYLANP 


come to the Magic Fountain when the fairy 
charm was on; for only at that time could 
one make a wish and drink a drop of the 
crystal water which would make the wish 
come true. Always at evening Little Boy 
would be taken to the house and there was 
no way for him to get back until the next day. 
Now try as hard as they could, no answer 
seemed to come, and in despair, the fairy 
queen decided to call upon their brothers, the 
pixies, to come to the council, for they all 
loved Little Boy and wished to see him well. 

A very small flute was brought to the 
throne and with this the queen gave the sig¬ 
nal. All at once from under a stone across 
the garden, came running and tumbling the 
pixies in their short brown coats and peaked 
hats. 

The question was asked of these wise little 
men, and although they sat very still and 
looked very solemn, they could make no sug¬ 
gestion. 

All night the meeting lasted when sud¬ 
denly, to their surprise, the rosy streaks of 
morning began to appear in the sky. With 
a hasty order to appear the next night, the 
fairies and pixies quickly scampered away, 


THE MAGIC DROP FROM THE FAIRY FOUHTAIH 31 



The Pixies Came Running and Tumbling. 


for no one ever saw a fairy in the day time 
and to venture forth then would never do 
at all. 

Now there was one very quiet, gentle little 
fairy whose name was Lily, for so lovely was 
she that the other fairies always compared 
her with the dainty little valley lilies, one of 
their favorite flowers. So anxious was she 
to see the little boy well that, while the other 
fairies slept, she lay awake in the long bell 
of the purple foxglove and thought and 
thought. 

At last, she almost sang aloud, for she be¬ 
lieved she had found a way. Hardly could 







32 


MY MAGIC STORYLAHD 


she wait for the night to come. When the 
clock again struck the hour of meeting, all the 
fairies and pixies found themselves seated on 
the mossy carpet. 

Up to the queen went the fairy, Lily, and 
into her ear she whispered her plan. The 
queen looked very pleased and said it was 
well worth trying, but reminded her that 
there was some danger in the attempt. Now 
this was the plan that Lily told the queen. 

We have been told that around the fountain 
grew row after row of perfect pink tulips. 
So carefully was the garden tended, that 
never a different colored flower was allowed 
to come in and break the even beauty. This 
the fairies knew and they planned to turn one 
of the pink tulips a bright yellow. They 
thought that when Little Boy’s mother walked 
in the garden in the evening and saw the 
yellow tulip growing with all the other pink 
ones, surely she would pick it and take it into 
the house with her. 

As the little boy could not come to the 
Magic Fountain to drink, the fairies decided 
to send a magic drop to him, so within the 
tiniest vial in all the world, the precious crys¬ 
tal drop was placed. Now children who love 


THE MAGIC DROP FROM THE FAIRY FOUMTAW 33 



The Fairy Lily Climbed into the Yellow Tulip. 


the flowers will know that tulips close their 
petals at night and open with the morning 
light. So to be certain of getting into the 
house, the little fairy, Lily, took the tiny vial 
and hurriedly climbed into the yellow tulip, 
for it was just about time for Little Boy’s 
mother to take her evening walk. 

A slight noise—she was coming now! Very 
near the edge of the bed grew the yellow 
tulip which the mother saw at once. Just as 
the fairies planned, she stooped down and 
picked it. 

“For,” said she, “it has no place among all 









34 


MT MAGIC STORYLAHD 


those pink tulips. However, it is a pretty 
flower and I will put it in my little boy’s room 
where he will see it the first thing in the 
morning.” 

Snap went the stem and poor little Lily in¬ 
side was very frightened. Up the path went 
the mother and finally the tulip found its way 
into a vase by the bed of the sleeping little 
boy, just as little Lily had planned. 

Very quietly the little fairy waited until 
the house was quiet and the magic hour of 
twelve should arrive; then, very softly she 
pushed aside the petals and, climbing swiftly 
to the bed, she whispered ever so gently into 
Little Boy’s ear. 

“Dear Little Boy, drink this magic drop 
and wish that you could walk.” 

Very slowly Little Boy turned his head and 
then sat up. In his hand he felt something 
and, rubbing his sleepy eyes, he finally opened 
them and saw the tiny vial. Quickly he raised 
it to his lips and wished that he could walk. 

Sleep soon came over him again and so the 
night passed. When the morning sun shone 
onto his face, he opened his blue eyes and 
saw the yellow tulip. Now suddenly he re¬ 
membered what happened in the night. He 


THE MAGIC DROP FROM THE FAIRY FOUNTAIN. 35 

at once tried to stand upon his little feet and 
found that he could walk. 

Little Boy’s father and mother could hardly 
believe their eyes and in their great joy, ques¬ 
tioned him as to how it happened. Very care¬ 
fully Little Boy told his story of the Fairy’s 
visit and the magic drop. The father and 
mother smiled at him and thought it was a 
dream, but Little Boy always believed the 
fairy story and a long time afterwards as he 
held his own little boy on his knee he told 
of the little fairy, Lily, who had made him 
well and strong. 








The Picture Children 
An Art-Land, Tale 

Two months had now passed since little 
Edith had been put to bed with a heavy plas¬ 
ter cast on her foot. She had been skating 
with her little friends on her way to school 
when one day she went too near the curb 
and, losing her balance, went into a ditch and 
broke her ankle. 

Everyone had been very kind to Edith and 
had done all they could to make the time pass 
pleasantly; but often she grew very lonely, 
especially now that spring had come and the 
flowers were beginning to bloom and the 
birds to sing. 

Tomorrow would be her birthday and her 
mother had just come in with a new picture. 
Since Edith was very fond of pictures, her 
mother tried to add a new one whenever she 
could. The walls of the pretty little bedroom 


36 


THE PICTURE CHILDREN 


37 


with its pink and white draperies were well 
covered with Edith’s favorites. 

Next morning dawned bright and clear, but 
the sad little girl was not able to get up. When 
her mother had come in and told her she was 
obliged to go to see her Aunt Emma, who 
was very sick, Edith tried to smile and waved 
goodbye, but as soon as her mother was out 
of the house, she began to feel very lonely. 

For a long time she lay there, when all of 
a sudden, she felt a very soft tap on her face 
and, looking around, she saw a tiny figure not 
as large as her smallest doll. Her eyes opened 
very wide as she saw the tiny little creature 
moving about. She was soon even more sur¬ 
prised when the little lady began to speak. 

“I am the Nurse Fairy,” said she, “and 
have come to make you happy.” 

“Oh, I am so glad to see you, for I was so 
lonesome with mother away.” 

“Now what shall we do to have a good 
time?” There was only a very short time to 
wait for the Nurse Fairy had everything 
planned. 

“Just close your eyes,” said she, “and then 
see what will happen.” Edith closed her eyes 
very tight and when she opened them she saw 


38 


Mr MAGIC STORTLAMD 


the “Princes in the Tower,” who had stepped 
out of the frame and were standing before 
her. 

The elder prince, whose name was Edward, 
smiled at Edith and said: 

“This is my younger brother Richard; and 
you know our story I am sure, how our 
wicked uncle had us placed in the lonely 
Tower of London, where he kept us for many 
days and finally had us smothered to death 
and then stole away the throne.” 

A sad story indeed! But just then the 
youngest boy looked up with a twinkle in his 
eye and said to Edith: 

“We are not really the princes, but two 
brothers who love each other just as much as 
Richard and Edward. More than three hun¬ 
dred years after the sad fate of the little 
princes, Sir John Everett Millais had us dress 
just like them and pose for him while he 
painted our pictures.” 

“And,” added the older brother, “he said 
we were very good models except for our 
eating lemon drops while he was painting us 
and scattering them on the floor where he had 
to step on them.” 

With a wave of the hand they were gone 



When She Opened Her Eyes, She Saw the Princs Standing Before Her. 



























40 


MT MAGIC STORYLAHD 


and when Edith looked up, the princes were 
back in their picture frame just as if nothing 
had happened. 

“That was fine. Do please let some more 
little picture folk talk,” said Edith. 

“Well, close your eyes again,” said the 
Nurse Fairy, “and wait until I say open. One, 
two, three—now!” 

When the little girl opened her eyes, there 
was a pale silvery light over all the room and 
before her stood a beautiful little girl with 
golden hair and lovely blue eyes. On looking 
at the wall Edith saw that the frame just over 
the table was empty and this was where 
“Angels’ Heads” belonged. 

“I am Frances Isabelle Gordon,” said the 
little picture girl. 

“But I thought you were an angel,” Edith 
told her. 

Frances Isabelle Gordon then laughed mer¬ 
rily and said: 

“I will tell you how I got my wings. My 
father and mother, Lord and Lady Gordon, 
were great friends of Sir Joshua Reynolds, 
the great artist, who was one of the nicest men 
we ever knew. Although he was a bachelor, 
he loved children and would sometimes let 


THE PICTURE CHILDREN. 


41 


us ride with him in his wonderful carriage. 
One day my mother promised to take me to 
have Sir Joshua paint my picture and I was 
very happy. He said that I would have to 
come several times and sit very still, but 1 
didn’t mind, for he always told such nice fairy 
tales while he worked. 

“At first he painted my picture looking 
straight at him and then he painted four 
others with my head turned different ways. 
When he had finished, he didn’t know which 
he liked best, so he decided to paint them all 
together. He then painted some lovely float¬ 
ing clouds and the angel’s wings. And that, 
dear little Edith, is how I came to be an 
angel.” 

Then coming quite close she gently kissed 
the cheek of the little girl in bed and quickly 
disappeared. 

When Edith looked up, there were the five 
little angels’ heads as they had always been. 

“Was anything ever more lovely than 
Frances Isabelle Gordon? How I do wish 
she could have stayed on and played with 
me.” 

“Are you getting tired, little girl?” asked 
the Nurse Fairy. 


42 


MY MAGIC SYORYLAKD 


“No, no, please do go on with the picture 
children,” said Edith. 

On opening her eyes the next time, she 
saw on her bed the dearest, softest, white 
rabbit with pink eyes and long ears just like 
a pink and white sea-shell. At his side stood 
a very handsome young boy with the prettiest 
suit and velvet cap. He smiled at Edith and 
she waited for him to tell her his story, but 
he did not open his mouth. 

Just then the Nurse Fairy stood by his side 
and said, “My dear, this is our little friend, 
Henry Raeburn Inglis, whom you know as the 
boy in ‘A Boy and Rabbit,’ the new birthday 
picture which your mother just bought you. 
Henry would like very much to tell you just 
how his grandfather painted him; but he has 
to leave it to me because he is deaf and 
dumb.” As the Fairy told the story, the rab¬ 
bit hopped over to Henry’s side and began 
nibbling the leaves as he always seems to be 
doing in the picture. 

Edith felt so sorry that the little boy could 
neither speak nor hear that the Fairy had to 
assure her that he was a very happy little 
boy in spite of his affliction, for his grand¬ 
father loved him better than all the other chil- 


THE PICTURE CHILDREN 


43 



She Saw a Soft White Rabbit and a Very Handsome Young Boy. 


dren and was always doing something for his 
pleasure. 

The next picture child was a very shy little 
girl with a queer little cap on her head and a 
very odd, long, pointed basket on her arm. 

“I am Theopilia Palmer,” said she. ‘‘I was 
named for my grandmother but no one wants 
to say such a long name, so they call me Offy. 
I wonder if you know what is in my basket?” 

“Yes, I do,” said Edith. “They are straw¬ 
berries, for I know you are the ‘Strawberry 
Girl’.” 







44 


MY MAGIC STORYLAHD 


“Right!” said OfFy. “My Uncle Joshua 
Reynolds painted my picture.” 

“The same one who painted Frances Isa¬ 
belle Gordon?” said Edith. 

“Yes,” said OfFy, “the very same. Uncle 
Joshua Reynolds had many little friends 
whom he was always painting. They always 
loved to come to his studio for he knew so 
many wonderful tricks and would tell them 
delightful stories while he painted.” 

Hardly had the little Strawberry Girl 
stepped back into her frame, when a lovely 
little girl with a ruffled cap and a lap full of 
wild flowers stepped out of the “Simplicity” 
frame. 

“My name is OfFy, too,” said she. “And 
the ‘Strawberry Girl’ was my mother. Just 
fifteen years after he painted her picture, I 
sat in the same studio for him to paint mine. 

I was also the little girl who posed for ‘The 
Age of Innocence’.” With these words the 
second little OfFy was gone. 

The little picture girl had just vanished 
when Edith heard the door open and knew 
that her mother was returning. She was com¬ 
ing up the stairs and now her hand was on 
the door-knob. 


THE PICTURE CHILDREN 


45 


“Well, how is my poor, lonely little girl?” 
said she; but as she looked at Edith’s shining, 
happy face she was very much surprised. 

Edith looked quickly around to introduce 
her mother to the Nurse Fairy, but she had 
completely disappeared and for the first time 
in her life she was sorry her mother had come. 

“What is my little girl looking for and what 
has she been doing to make her so happy?” 
asked her mother. 

With beaming eyes the little girl told the 
story of the wonderful fairy and the picture 
children, and though the mother looked very 
much interested and asked lots of questions, 
she smiled to herself as she left the room and 
said: 

“Surely the child has been dreaming.” 

Aunt Emma was much better and it was 
several days before her mother left the house 
again. Edith loved her pictures more than 
ever, especially those that had talked to her 
and as she looked at the others on her walls, 
she wished that her mother would leave her 
again and the Nurse Fairy would pay her an¬ 
other visit. 

Sunday came and Edith’s father said, “I 
wonder if my little girl would be very good 


46 


MY MAGIC STORYLANP 


and let mother go for a nice walk in the sun¬ 
shine. When we return we will bring you 
something nice.” 

Now Edith was always an unselfish little 
girl, but her father wondered why she seemed 
so happy when she would be alone with only 
Katie, the cook, in the kitchen below. 

Hardly had the door closed when Edith be¬ 
gan to watch for the Fairy. Several times she 
called softly, but no one answered. After 
watching and waiting for what seemed to her 
a long time, Edith gave up hope and great 
tears began to roll down her cheeks. 

“Now, now, why these tears?” said a very 
small voice at her elbow, and looking down, 
she saw the darling Nurse Fairy smiling up 
at her. “Little children must learn to be pa¬ 
tient and not cry for things they cannot have 
at once,” said she and then gave Edith the 
lightest, tiniest kiss you could possibly im¬ 
agine. 

“O dear Fairy, please let some more of the 
Picture Children talk to me,” coaxed the 
little girl. 

“Well, close your eyes and we will see if 
they feel like talking to-day,” said the Fairy. 

Edith shut her eyes, keeping them shut so 


THE PICTURE CHILDREN 


47 



“O Fairy, Please Let Some More of the Picture Children Tal\ to Me 

long that she began to wiggle about impa¬ 
tiently. 

“Now what did I say about patience?” said 
the Fairy. 

While her eyes were fast shut Edith heard 
the loveliest song and when the Fairy said 
“Open,” there stood a sweet young girl with 
a reap-hook in her hand. She was not dressed 
like Frances Isabelle Gordon nor the little 
Offy girls, but on her head she wore a bright 
cloth, her feet were quite bare and around her 
waist was gathered a coarse apron. How 
wonderfully happy she looked as she lifted 















48 


MT MAGIC STORTLAHD 


her eyes far over the fields in the early morn¬ 
ing sunshine and listened to the larks’ song 
as they rose higher and higher and their song 
grew fainter and fainter until they disap¬ 
peared. Edith knew before she was told that 
she was the girl in “The Song of the Lark.” 

Never before had she realized the wonder 
of the picture so beautifully painted by Jules 
Breton, a French artist; and she almost de¬ 
cided that she preferred being this French 
peasant girl out in the fields in her little bare 
feet than to sit dressed up like Offy. The 
sweet, clear song died away and when she 
again looked, the young girl was standing in 
her accustomed place in the fields with the 
farm houses in the distance and in the usual 
brown and gold frame that Edith had seen so 
many times before. 

“Wasn’t that the loveliest song you ever 
heard?” said the little girl. 

“Now close your eyes again and see who 
will come this time,” said the Nurse Fairy. 

This time Edith blinked her eyes for sev¬ 
eral minutes, for did she not see standing be¬ 
fore her the wonderful “Blue Boy”? Al¬ 
though quite solemn in his picture the Blue 
Boy smiled at Edith. 


THE PICTURE CHILDREN. 


49 


“I see,” said he, “that you know me but 
I am going to tell you something that perhaps 
you have not heard. My name is Jonathan 
Buttall and my father was a rich ironmonger 
of Soho. Thomas Gainsborough, as a result 
of an argument with Sir Joshua Reynolds, had 
me dress in a Van Dyke suit of blue satin and 
painted me out-of-doors. I was standing in 
the green grass with the green trees and the 
blue skies behind me to show that a picture 
could be painted in blue and green with a 
pleasing effect—for Sir Joshua said this could 
not be done.” 

How handsome Jonathan looked with his 
shining blue satin suit and white lace collar 
and the wonderful hat with flowing white 
plume held in his hand. 

“For many years,” continued the Blue Boy, 
“I have lived in England, for I was painted 
in 1770. Once I belonged to the Prince of 
Wales. When the cruel World War came on 
I went to America for safe-keeping and so 
sorry were the English people to see me leave 
that some cried and the dear old man who had 
taken care of me for so long wrote ‘Au 
re voir’ and his initials on the back of the, 
canvas. Now I belong to Mr. Henry E. Hunt- 


so 


MY MAGIC STORYLAMP 


ington and—listen carefully while I whisper 
to you—I am the highest priced picture in the 
world!” 

It was some time before Edith could speak 
for she was quite overcome by the splendor of 
the Blue Boy and his wonderful secret. 

Now there was one picture in her room that 
Edith did not like to look at and she had hung 
it in a far-away corner where she could not 
often see it, for her mother had once given 
her this picture when she had not behaved. 
Edith hoped that the Nurse Fairy would not 
notice it. But not so, for the very next time 
she opened her eyes there stood a very 
naughty little boy glaring sullenly, his eyes 
bright with unshed tears and his little red 



The haughty Child. 








THE PICTURE CHILDREN 


SI 


mouth all out of shape with pouting. He was 
huddled up in one corner of the room with his 
arms quite close to his fat little body and his 
feet turned together, with his toes turned in. 
The little boy was so sulky that he would not 
tell his name nor say a word and the Nurse 
Fairy had to tell the story for him. 

“Sir Edwin Landseer painted this little 
boy,” said the Fairy, “and he wishes us to see 
in the picture a bad little boy who refuses to 
say his lesson. He has thrown his slate crash¬ 
ing to the floor and turned his book face 
down. But this is not the real story, for that 
actually took place in Landseer’s studio. 

“Sir Edwin, struck by the child’s beauty, 
desired to paint his picture. At the thought 
of sitting so long, the little boy flew into a 
rage and Landseer painted his picture just as 
he saw him and this is ‘The Naughty Child.’ 
As the picture hangs in the gallery, it is a 
lesson to children who change themselves 
from beautiful to horrid children by naughti¬ 
ness.” 

Edith looked rather foolish as the sullen 
little blue-eyed boy sulked his way back to 
his frame. Had the picture been given to her 
to teach her this very lesson? 


52 


MY MAGIC STORYLAMD 


Just at this minute, the door closed and 
voices were heard below. Several people 
seemed to be coming up the stairs and when 
her door opened, Edith saw that her mother 
and father had brought with them the doctor, 
who smiled kindly at her as he began to take 
off the heavy cast from her foot. 

“Very, very soon,” said he, “you will be 
running around as if nothing had ever been 
the matter.” 

The doctor’s words proved true and very 
soon Edith was playing again with her little 
friends. But ever after, of all her treasures 
she loved her pictures best, because she knew 
that through the kindness of the Nurse Fairy, 
she had many new friends who were now her 
very own. 



O’Lota San and the Diamond Dew-Drops 
A Japanese Tale 

Far away over the sea on the beautiful 
island of Japan, where the cherry blossoms 
carpet the soft earth with their lovely pink 
petals and the silvery peak of Fujiyama, the 
“Matchless Mountain,” rises high above the 
water, there dwelt two beautiful maidens. 

Their home was in the palace where the 
Emperor and Empress lived; and many a day 
they spent in the wonderful gardens, some¬ 
times sitting by the clear streams watching 
the gold fish with their long fan-tails and 
bright scales gleaming in the water as they 
swam in and out among the lotus flowers. 
Again they would sit on the small rustic 
benches listening to the music of the court 
musicians as the beautiful notes were wafted 
far and near on the breezes. 

All their lives these maidens had loved 
each other dearlv for the had been raised 


53 




54 


MY MAGIC STORTLAHD 


together like sisters. Miura was the name of 
the Emperor’s daughter and O’Lota San was 
her cousin, for the Emperor’s only sister upon 
her death had left the little O’Lota San to her 
brother to bring up as his own child. 

Always they dressed in the finest silks of 
the Empire. Their pretty kimonos were em¬ 
broidered with beautiful butterflies and won¬ 
derful flowers. Costly jewels were freely 
given them and they always received just the 
same gifts. They looked so nearly alike that 
even the Emperor and Empress could hardly 
tell them apart. Thus they grew from child¬ 
hood to young womanhood. 

All went happily until one day a very gal¬ 
lant knight came riding to the palace gate. 
The Emperor came out to welcome him for 
he had received tidings from a neighboring 
kingdom that the young knight would soon 
arrive. So welcome was he that he remained 
with them for many days. Each day he spent 
many hours with O’Lota San and Miura, tell¬ 
ing them of his wonderful adventures, and in 
the evening by the moonlight he would sing 
to them, often mingling his rich, mellow voice 
with the silvery notes of O’Lota San, for she 
had a voice like the Japanese nightingale. 



Mi ura and O'Lota San Loo\ed pearly Ali\e 












































56 


MT MAGIC storylahd 


Miura was beautiful, too, but she could not 
sing a note, which made her very sad as she 
wanted to win the wonderful knight. She 
feared that he would love best O’Lota San 
because of her lovely voice. 

Now a great war came on and Urashima, 
for that was the knight’s name, had to bid 
them all farewell and go to fight in his coun¬ 
try’s army. When he came to say goodbye 
he told them that he would return when the 
war was over for the girl he wanted to make 
his bride. 

After his departure, a bad sprite took pos¬ 
session of Miura; and so fearful she became 
that it would be O’Lota San whom the knight 
wanted instead of herself that she could rest 
neither day nor night. Day after day she 
pined away, wondering how she could get 
O’Lota San away from the palace, until finally 
she sent for the court magician and asked his 
advice. After many consultations, it was 
decided that O’Lota San should be turned 
into a fairy and instructions given her that 
if she ever spoke to a human being she would 
surely die. “Now,” said Miura, “that will 
surely keep her from ever meeting Urashima 
again.” 


O'LOTA SAH AHD THE DIAMOND DEW-DROPS 57 

When the appointed time came for the 
magician to give the magic drink which would 
change O’Lota San into a fairy, she was sum¬ 
moned by Miura to walk with her in the gar¬ 
den and down the path they walked, their 
arms around each other. Now Miura’s heart 
almost failed her, for she knew how lonely 
she would be without her life-long com¬ 
panion. 

At the foot of the path sat the magician, 
waiting for them; and as they drew near he 
offered them each a drink from a crystal 
goblet. Of course, to Miura he gave the clear 
water, but to O’Lota San he gave the magic 
potion. No sooner had she swallowed it than 
she was transformed into the tiniest, dearest, 
little fairy one could wish to know. 

At this moment a large blue and gold but¬ 
terfly alighted at her feet. O’Lota San seated 
herself between his wings and, waving her 
tiny hand, was carried far away into a beau¬ 
tiful forest where the butterfly let her gently 
down at the foot of a Paulowania tree, an 
honored tree of Japan, with broad, thick 
leaves and known as the parent of harps and 
all beautiful melody. Now when O’Lota San 
looked around her, she saw a very perfect 


58 


MT MAGIC STORYLAHD 



She Saw a Large Seashell. 


pink and white seashell which looked like a 
large, shimmering pearl in the moonlight. As 
she stepped nearer, she saw a tiny doorway 
which led into the shell. Within were differ¬ 
ent little rooms all with the tiniest possible 
furniture; and this, O’Lota San found, was to 
be her home. 

Soon a humming and stirring was heard 
outside and when she came to the door all 
the little wood folk had come to welcome her. 
In front came the little fireflies, lighting the 
way for the others. Then came the little silk- 









O'LOT A SAH AHD THE DIAMOND DEW-DROPS 59 

worms, bearing a dress of silk, so fine that 
it looked like the mist in the valley with the 
rosy rays of the sun upon it. Each of these 
little friends brought a gift, so by the time 
they all passed, nothing was left that she 
could wish for or need. To each one she 
pledged her friendship and from that day she 
lived among them, doing for them as she 
was needed and calling upon them when she 
needed their help. Many times she was called 
upon to bind up a broken wing or to give 
water to a tired and thirsty little neighbor of 
the woodland. 

So the time passed by and O’Lota San 
seemed happy in her strange, new home. 
Each day she slept in her own tiny room in 
the pink and white shell and by night she 
wandered through the flowers and grasses, 
turning many dew-drops into diamonds. All 
of these diamonds she gathered together, in 
a small hole at the foot of the Paulowania 
tree. Sometimes she would step on a lotus 
leaf and sail about in the brilliant moonlight 
on the little stream bordered on each side by 
the beautiful blue iris and graceful wistaria 
vines. 

It had now been several years since Miura 


60 


MT MAGIC STORrLAHD 


had caused her cousin to be turned into a 
fairy and each day she watched at the palace 
gate, hoping to see Urashima, the knight of 
her dreams, returning from the war. One eve¬ 
ning just as the sun was sinking behind the 
trees in the palace gardens, Miura, at her 
usual place by the garden gate, saw the fig¬ 
ure of a knight on horseback approaching in 
the distance. As he drew nearer, her glad 
feeling was changed to anxiety, for she rec¬ 
ognized Urashima. 

When quite a distance he saw Miura, and 
leaping from his horse, hastened to her side. 
Quite glad he seemed to see Miura, but now 
her anxiety turned to fear, for he was asking 
for O’Lota San. Oh, foolish Miura! What 
was she now to do? During these months 
of waiting, the wicked sprite had placed more 
deceit in her foolish little heart. 

I am O Lota San. Do you not recognize 
me, Urashima?” lied the little Miura. 

Now in his heart, Urashima knew that this 
was not the girl he wanted, but to punish her 
he waited until evening came and the moon¬ 
light shone over the palace; then he said: 

“Come walk with me in the garden and let 
us sing together as we used to do.” 


O'LOT A SAH AND THE DIAMOND DEWDROPS 61 


A great fear made Miura tremble so 
strangely that Urashima thought she was go¬ 
ing to faint, so he led her to a bench and they 
sat down. 

“Now,” said he, “sing to me, O’Lota San.” 

Seeing that there was no hope for her to 
win the knight, for Miura could not sing a 
single note, she fell on her knees at Urashima’s 
feet and told him of the wicked deed she had 
done. Full of anger was he and drew forth 
his sword as if to strike her; but instead, 
bowed his head and went straightway from 
the palace forever. 

For days and weeks he wandered, sadness 
in his face. Never could he forget his great 
love for O’Lota San, whom he never expected 
to see again. With all hope gone, he decided 
that since she had been forced to leave all 
the people of her world and live apart in the 
forest, he too would live a hermit’s life. 

So, deep into the forest he went and of all 
the forests on the island, this happened to be 
the one where O’Lota San lived. 

One evening to her great surprise, she 
heard a sigh and just under the Paulowania 
tree sat a sad young man. This was the first 
time since she had been borne to this spot on 


62 


MT MAGIC STORTLAHD 


butterfly wings that she had ever seen a hu¬ 
man being. Just then, back came to her the 
warning that if she ever spoke to a mortal 
again she would surely die. 

Very timidly did O’Lota San look up into 
the man’s face, when all at once she knew 
that it was none other than the gallant 
knight. Now the little fairy maid did not 
know what to do. Night after night Urashima 
had come always with a sigh on his lips, until 
O’Lota San felt so sorry for the knight that 
she decided it was worth her life to speak 
just one word to him. 

The full moon rose over the tree tops and 
the woods seemed filled with magical beauty. 
In the trees sang the little Japanese nightin¬ 
gales and the brook gleamed like crystal. 
Urashima came as usual and sat under the 
tree, this time his head bent low, for his life 
was very sad indeed. Out of her tiny house, 
for the last time, came O’Lota San, and 
slowly walked up to Urashima. So tiny was 
she that she had to climb to his shoulder be¬ 
fore she could whisper in his ear. With her 
little wand she touched his cheek and as he 
looked at her she began to speak—when, in¬ 
stead of the bad magic harming her, instantly 


O'LOT A SAH A HD THE DIAMOND DEW'DROPS 63 


she was restored to her real self and O’Lota 
San stood before him. 

Hand in hand they walked together while 
Urashima told her of his great search for her 
and how he had given up his fortunes in try¬ 
ing to find her. With a happy heart O’Lota 
San then led him to the foot of the dear 
Paulowania tree that had sheltered her so 
long; and kneeling down, she drew forth for 
him the treasured gleaming diamonds so that 
they would never be in want of anything 
again. 





Mary Maltese and Her Wonderful Plan 
The Friends-in-Need Tale 

Something must be done for her at once,” 
said Mary Maltese to Patrick Pink-Ear, the 
handsome rabbit, as they met in the back 
yard and walked to the apple tree. 

Miss Agatha Pettingell, a dear little old 
lady with snow-white hair and twinkling 
brown eyes, was the person just referred to 
by Mary Maltese. 

Miss Agatha had lived all her life in a 
beautiful home in the suburbs of a large 
city, and from childhood had never known 
what it was to need anything. The beauti¬ 
ful grounds were tended by a gardener and 
around the shining fountain grew some of 
the rarest flowers that any one could grow. 
Beautiful pergolas covered by vines of lacy 
green and flagstone paths bordered by rare 
iris led to rustic seats along a silvery brook on 
which floated pink and white waterlilies. 


64 


MART MALTESE AN.D HER WONDERFUL PLAA[ 65 



Agatha and Her ?<[urse Spent Many Happy Hours Watching the Goldfish Swim. 


Little Agatha in her childhood had spent 
many happy hours with her nurse watching 
the goldfish swim in and out among the large, 
flat lily pads. 

Thus, Miss Agatha had grown from child¬ 
hood into girlhood and later into young 
womanhood. One by one the different mem¬ 
bers of her family passed away until only 
one brother was left to share with her the 
family fortune. These two were very de¬ 
voted and one day when the sad news of 
her brother’s passing reached her, Miss 
Agatha felt that her life was indeed lonely. 












66 


MT MAGIC STORYLAHD 


Then, to add to her sorrow, she found that 
all their fortune had been lost. 

So proud was Miss Agatha that she did 
not wish her friends to see her poverty. So 
she decided to move to a very small town and 
live a new life. 

Into the little white house she came, bring¬ 
ing with her just enough of the lovely pieces 
of furniture from the old home to furnish 
her small home where she expected to spend 
her remaining days. Here with her mistress 
came Mary Maltese, the aristocratic kitty, 
who alone shared with Miss Agatha the story 
of her joys and sorrows. Soon under the 
gentle touch of her kindly hand, the long 
neglected yard began to bloom forth into a 
bower of beauty. No gardener did the work 
in this little yard, but the little old lady, her¬ 
self, took the trowel and rake and hoe into 
her dainty, white hands and after planting 
the tiny brown seed, watched with keenest 
delight as the little green leaves burst forth 
followed by the tiny buds and last of all the 
wonderful blooms that made the little yard 
a bower of rainbow brightness. 

The children always loved to pass by the 
little white house on their way from school, 


MART MALTESE AHD HER WONDERFUL PLAK 67 

for they were sure to get a sweet smile from 
the little old lady and perhaps a passing 
glance from Mary Maltese, who was never 
far away from her mistress. 

When the neighbors called, they were 
graciously received in the cheerful little par¬ 
lor. It was furnished with the rare pieces 
of mahogany, brass candlesticks, several won¬ 
derful family portraits, and the splendid old 
grandfather’s clock, which had been saved 
from the days of their former splendor. 

Miss Agatha, dressed in her lavender silk, 
a small piece of dainty lace at her throat and 
satin slippers on her tiny feet, did not give 
the impression of poverty, for she never spoke 
a word about her former life. No one knew 
how many times the lavender silk had been 
darned nor how very thin it had worn. 
Neither did they know that when the day 
came that it could no longer be patched, there 
would be no money to buy another dress. 

While they never asked any questions, the 
neighbors wondered how Miss Agatha man¬ 
aged to get along. Now this is what Mary 
Maltese found out. 

For many generations there had been in 
the Pettingell family some very valuable 


68 


MY MAGIC STORTLAHD 


jewels which were left to Miss Agatha by her 
mother. One by one she had been compelled 
to sell these in order to pay her debts and 
buy herself food. The dear little lady tried 
to keep happy and bright among her flowers 
and little friends of the woodland, for the 
little house was just next to a beautiful wood. 
However, she knew that when the last piece 
was sold, she had no other source of income. 

Only too soon that sad day arrived, and 
when Mary Maltese came in from her walk, 
she found her usually smiling mistress in 
tears. 

“Oh, Mary Maltese, what shall I do?” 
said she as she turned the lovely diamond ring 
on her little finger. “This is the only thing 
I have left and this I cannot sell. Indeed I had 
far rather starve, for it was my engagement 
ring from David, who placed it on my finger 
and bade me wear it until he came back to 
me. Though many years have come and 
gone, I feel that sometime I shall see David 
again, and I must be wearing his ring.” 

Miss Agatha began to cry again as she 
looked into the face of a handsome young 
soldier whose picture was always on her 
table. 



The Dear Little Lady Tried to Keep Happy and Bright Among Her Flowers 






































































70 


MY MAGIC STORYLAHD 


Mary Maltese softly rubbed against her 
mistress, then straightening up, went directly 
to the back yard where she had met Patrick 
Pink-Ear, the handsome rabbit who made his 
home under the little white house. 

‘What is the matter?” said Patrick Pink- 
Ear. 

Then Mary Maltese explained. 

“Well,” said he, “let’s call all of Miss 
Agatha’s little friends together and see what 
can be done.” With that they hastened into 
the wood and began to call all the little broth¬ 
ers and sisters of the woodland together. 

Ever since the little old lady had been in 
the white house, not a day had passed that 
the little shelf on the back-porch had not held 
crumbs for the bird-folk, nor had the daily 
bone for Mary Maltese been missing from 
its place on the door step. 

Rachel Robin was the first to fly down 
from her lofty perch and was soon followed 
by Cornelia Crow. They were no sooner 
seated than Benjamin Bee and his wife and 
Silas Squirrel joined them. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bee sat daintily on a bunch of clover while 
Silas Squirrel, who was very old, leaned on 


MART MALTESE AND HER WONDERFUL PLAN. 71 

his small cane of holly-wood which he always 
kept near at hand. 

Mary Maltese and Patrick Pink-Ear, being 
in charge of affairs, began to explain the 
reason for the meeting. All the little wood¬ 
land creatures loved Miss Agatha dearly and 
when they heard that she was really in dan¬ 
ger of starving, they were almost speechless 
with surprise. Rachel Robin and Silas Squir¬ 
rel almost cried. 

“We must help our dear old Miss Agatha 
at once,” said Benjamin Bee, and his wife 
seemed to agree. All afternoon they talked 
and planned and by night a very satisfactory 
scheme had been perfected. Each little friend 
promised to bring some offering and place it 
on the little shelf that had so often held food 
for them. 

“We will meet again a week from to-day,” 
said Mary Maltese, “and in the meatime we 
will see that our friend does not want for any¬ 
thing.’ 

Since Miss Agatha had gone to bed when 
Mary Maltese reached home, she slipped 
quietly away again, for she had many things 
to attend to. Bright and early the next morn- 


72 


Mr MAGIC STORTLAHD 


ing, however, she was at the back door call¬ 
ing her mistress to come. 

When the door was opened, Miss Agatha 
saw on the little shelf a sight that made her 
open her eyes very wide. Here was some of 
the loveliest, crisp lettuce that one could pos¬ 
sibly find; and this was Patrick Pink-Ear’s 
contribution. He had made a visit to one of 
the neighboring gardens; and at a great risk 
had selected one of the finest heads of lettuce 
in the whole bed. 

The next thing she saw was a very neat 
little box made of leaves, and filled with 
sparkling yellow honey. This was the gift 
of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Bee. Sallie Spider 
had fashioned the box, spending a great deal 
of time sewing the corners with her very fine 
thread, which had broken many times while 
she worked. 

A bunch of beautiful red cherries had been 
very gently removed from a neighbor’s cherry 
tree by Rachel Robin. Silas Squirrel brought 
some nuts that he had on hand, for his rheu¬ 
matism had been so bad lately that he had 
not been able to get about. 

Faithful Mary Maltese, much against her 
kind feeling, had furnished a plump part- 


MART MALTESE AND HER WONDERFUL PLAN 73 



Miss Agatha Saw a Sight that Made Her Open Her Eyes. 

ridge, for, “Much as I love Bob White,” said 
she, “my dear mistress must live.” 

In wonder Miss Agatha picked up all of 
these gifts and just as she raised the last 
leaf, something bright and shining fell at her 
feet. Picking it up, she saw that it was a 
gold piece. This was Cornelia Crow’s con¬ 
tribution, and we will not ask her where she 
found it, for did not dear Miss Agatha have 
to pay her rent? 

Each morning some new offering was 
placed upon the little shelf and Miss Agatha’s 
cheeks became rosy and her eyes sparkled 
once more. Not for one day during a whole 










74 


MT MAGIC STORYLAHD 


week did her little friends fail her. Miss 
Agatha thought of the Bible story she had 
learned when a little girl about the good 
man Elijah and how the ravens brought him 
food. 

On the seventh day the little company 
again assembled to discuss further ways and 
means, for winter was again coming on and 
it would be harder and harder to find food 
for Miss Agatha when the snow came and 
covered the earth. While they were deep in 
the discussion, Mary Maltese happened to 
look up and saw coming across the field, Alex¬ 
ander Airedale. Up went Mary Maltese’s fur. 
Silas Squirrel began looking at the high 
branches of a tree. 

Alexander Airedale drew nearer and 
nearer and finally came all the way. 

“What do you want?” asked Mary Maltese 
in a very stern voice. 

“I do not wish to disturb you,” said Alex¬ 
ander Airedale, “but I saw all these wise 
friends gathering and thought perhaps you 
could help me.” 

“What is your trouble?” said Patrick Pink- 
Ear. 

“Well,” said he, “my master lives in the 


MART MALTESE A >{D HER WONDERFUL PLAli 75 



On the Seventh Day the Little Company Again Assembled. 


big stone house just up the hill and across 
the field from the house of your mistress. He 
has only lived there a short while and al¬ 
though he is very, very rich and has lots of 
servants, he is always sad and lonely. Some¬ 
times when the postman brings his letters 
all marked over with return addresses, he 
goes to his room and sits for ever so long. 
Sometimes he lets me sit by his side, but 
he only strokes my head and says nothing. 
Almost every day he takes me to walk in 
the garden and he is so kind and good that 










76 


MT MAGIC SrORTLAHD 


I would give anything to make him happy. 
Please, good friends, help me to think of 
some way.” 

Again the assembly was much impressed. 
This new problem presented grave difficulties, 
for if the master had plenty of money and 
food, what more could they do to help him? 

Cornelia Crow was first to offer a sugges¬ 
tion, for Cornelia was quite brilliant at times. 

“The master is just lonely,” said she. 
“Can’t we find a friend for him?” 

“And how lonely dear little Miss Agatha 
is,” said Mary Maltese. “Can’t we somehow 
make them acquainted?” 

One afternoon about sunset when the mas¬ 
ter was taking Alexander Airedale for his 
daily stroll, Mary Maltese was very meekly 
rubbing against Miss Agatha’s skirts as she 
worked over her petunia beds. All of sud¬ 
den there was a flash, a howl, a bark, a bit 
of flying fur, and cat and dog went over and 
over in a furry ball. A very handsome old 
gentleman rushed for his dog, a beautiful 
little old lady went to the rescue of her cat. 
Just then they looked up, their eyes met and 
they both exclaimed in joyful surprise! 

“David!” said she. 


MART MALTESE AND HER WONDERFUL PLAN 77 


“My dear Agatha! after all these years!” 
said he. 

And just as the sun went down behind the 
western hills, the master held his little sweet¬ 
heart in his arms, while Alexander Airedale 
and Mary Maltese frolicked and capered 
around before running off to tell their friends 
the wonderful news of Miss Agatha and Mr. 
David. 








The Fairies and the Earth Child 
A French Tale 

It had now been several months since La 
Poupee had disappeared from her grand¬ 
mother s home and gone to live with the 
fairies. During the War Madame de Ros- 
sett’s only son had given his life to his coun¬ 
try. His wife soon passed away and La 
Poupee was left an orphan in her grand¬ 
mother’s care. 

Now this was not the child’s real name, for 
her mother had christened her Marie; but 
such a lovely, winsome little lass was she that 
she gained the name of La Poupee, which 
means The Doll. 

Before the AVar the de Rossetts had been 
a very wealthy family and the chateau where 
they lived was one of the loveliest in that part 
of the country. Here Madame and the little 
girl lived alone with the servants. 

One day Nanette, the nursemaid, came 


78 


THE FAIRIES AND THE EARTH CHILD 


79 


rushing into the house, her eyes wide with 
fright, and announced that the enemy was 
coming and even now was in sight. Quickly 
all the servants were called together and the 
great iron bolts on the doors and windows 
were securely fastened. 

Soon the yard was filled with the invading 
army and Madame de Rossett was suddenly 
panic stricken as she rushed around in search 
of the tiny Marie. Where could she be? 

“Nanette, Nanette!” cried the frantic old 
lady, “Where, oh, where did you leave 
Marie?” 

The frightened nursemaid suddenly re¬ 
membered leaving the baby in a little swing 
in the garden when the exciting news had 
reached her. In her haste to tell her mis¬ 
tress, she had forgotten to bring the little 
girl in. 

“Let us go and search for her at once,” said 
Madame, but on looking out they knew it 
meant instant death. For even now the sol¬ 
diers had the entire house surrounded and 
were beating and banging upon the doors. 

Finally, after seeing that the heavy bars 
would not give way, they took with them all 
of the beautiful horses and carriages from the 


80 


MY MAGIC STORYLAHD 



Madame Rushed Out to Loo\ for Marie. 


stables and then set fire to all the out build¬ 
ings on the place and withdrew. 

As soon as possible Madame rushed out to 
look for her little grandchild but nowhere 
could she be found. Then she knew that 
the wicked enemy had taken her along with 
them. 

Not wishing to stay alone in the large 
house, Madame de Rossett decided to sell it 
and buy a small home for herself and Nanette, 
so as to blot out all memories of her former 
life. However, try as she might, each day 









t 


On and On Marie Wds Carried through the Air 













































82 


Mr MAGIC STORTLAHD 


found her with a very sad heart, for she could 
think of nothing but the lost baby. 

But what had become of the little Marie? 
After marching for a long time through the 
dusty roads, the order came for the soldiers 
to halt and rest awhile. When they had found 
the little girl playing in her grandmother’s 
garden, they had quickly picked her up and 
placed her in one of their wagons and covered 
her all up except her face. So frightened was 
she that at first she could not make a sound, 
but as they moved along, she began to cry 
pitifully. However, no one came to her aid 
and she finally cried herself to sleep. 

Soon after halting the soldiers were so tired 
and worn that they fell asleep, entirely forget¬ 
ting the stolen baby. Just as Marie opened 
her eyes and began to call for her grand¬ 
mother, she saw something very large and 
dark circling above her in the sky. Nearer 
and nearer it came until very suddenly she 
felt herself firmly grasped and soon was ris¬ 
ing swiftly towards the skies. On and on 
little Marie was carried through the air, over 
the trees and tops of the houses and finally 
found herself slowly lowered toward the 
earth. Each circle brought her nearer and 


THE FAIRIES AND THE EARTH CHILD 


83 


nearer the ground until she was gently laid 
on the soft moss at the foot of a large tree 
by her good friend, the eagle. 

Already darkness was beginning to fall and 
soon a beautiful moon rose over the tree tops. 
Close beside her sat the eagle waiting. After 
a short while a very soft strain of music and 
a fluttering of tiny wings were heard. Here 
came the fairies, dancing and singing, their 
beautiful little queen leading them. On her 
head was a tiny gold crown and her feet were 
shod with the daintiest gold slippers imagi¬ 
nable, while her dress was as white as the 
snowflakes. The other little fairies wore 
dresses of soft colors, which faintly glimmered 
in the moonlight, and their little slippers were 
of crystal like the dewdrops. 

Following the fairies came the gnomes and 
pixies, their queer little faces peeping out 
from their brown peaked caps and their rol¬ 
licking little feet hopping and skipping in 
their brown shoes with turned-up toes. When 
they came near the spot where Marie and the 
eagle were seated, they suddenly stopped and 
listened intently, for they thought they heard 
a faint cry. 

The eagle flapped his wings and began to 


MY MAGIC STORYLAMD 


speak. “Here,” said he, “is the little earth 
child that 1 promised to bring you. Now be 
sure that you take the best of care of her.” 

And with this he flapped his wings again 
and quickly rising, soared far into the clouds. 

When the fairies saw the beautiful little 
child that the eagle had brought they danced 
with delight. 

“What is your name, dear little girl?” they 
asked. “La Poupee,” Marie answered. The 
fairies agreed that she was indeed a beautiful 
doll with her lovely ringlets of gold and her 
forget-me-not eyes. 

Little Marie was always in bed at this time 
of day at home. She discovered now that she 
was so sleepy and tired from her day’s adven¬ 
tures that her eyes began to droop and close. 

“We must hurry,” said the fairies, “and 
get our little earth baby a bed to sleep in, for 
little earth children do not dance and play all 
the night through as do our fairy children.” 

So they called the gnomes and pixies and 
soon a nice dry log was found with a hole 
just large enough for the baby. This they 
cleaned out and lined with many flowers and 
ferns to make it snug and soft. 

Now they lifted the little sleeping child into 


THE FAIRIES AND THE EARTH CHILD 


85 


her woodland bed. Placing a warm rabbit 
skin over her, they each gave her a very soft 
kiss just as though a rose petal had brushed 
her little cheek. When this was done they 
joined hands and, with the baby in the middle 
of the magic circle, they danced around seven 
times singing: 

“Little earth child, dream away, 

Fairy friends with you will stay. 

We will keep you free from harm, 

None dares to break the fairy charm” 

They knew then that no harm could pos¬ 
sibly come, for their charm made Marie quite 
secure. 

The sun was shining when the little girl 
opened her eyes and she sat up and looked 
around her. She seemed all alone and began 
to cry. Just then something soft touched her 
hand and she found herself looking into the 
bright eyes of a big brown rabbit. 

“Good morning, La Poupee,’’ said he and 
the child’s eyes grew wide with wonder, for 
she did not know that animals could talk and 
he seemed even to know her name. 

“Here is a nice cup of milk,’’ he continued. 
“The fairies said your little animal friends 


86 


MY MAGIC STORYLAHD 



would take care of you through the day, and 
we don’t want you to get hungry.” 

Marie very slowly smiled and began to 
drink the milk. She was really very hungry, 
for it had been a long time since she had 
tasted any food. The friendly bunny, seeing 
that she was still hungry, went away for a 
few minutes and returned with some delicious 
fruit. We can not tell the name of this, for no 
one knows. It was fairy fruit. 

“Now,” said the friendly rabbit, “perhaps 
you would like to come with me. I must be 
getting back to my home and family. Come 
and I will show you my children.” 










THE FAIRIES AND THE EARTH CHILD 87 

Little Marie ran along through the woods, 
her little legs keeping up with the rabbit’s 
hops which he tried to make as short as pos¬ 
sible. After awhile in a pleasant spot he 
halted and said, “This is my home.” 

“Hoo-ooh! Hoo-ooh!” called Mr. Rabbit, 
and from a strange looking hole in the ground, 
Mrs. Rabbit appeared. 

“Bring the children, my dear,” he called 
to her. “I have brought with me the fairies’ 
earth child to see our family.” 

Just then a number of little furry balls ap¬ 
peared hopping merrily about and little Marie 
laughed aloud as she saw them, putting her 
little hand on their soft, furry coats. They 
did not seem at all afraid and let her pet them 
as much as she liked. 

All the morning she played very happily 
and just as she was getting a trifle hungry 
for her lunch, who should come along but a 
pretty red fox bringing some beautiful grapes. 

“Oh Mr. Fox, will you be kind enough to 
take the fairies’ little earth child back to her 
bed?” said Mr. Rabbit. 

“Surely,” replied Mr. Fox. “Just hop on 
my back and we will be there ever so soon.” 


MY MAGIC STQRYLAHD 


Marie clapped her tiny hands with joy as she 
rode swiftly through the woods. 

When night came the fairies appeared 
again, and since she was not so sleepy, hav¬ 
ing taken a little nap in the afternoon, they 
took her with them for awhile and let her 
see some of the wonderful things they did. 
It was a very happy little girl whom they 
kissed to sleep that night. 

So the happy days went by during the 
beautiful summer. Each day the birds and 
animals watched over her as though she were 
their own, for the fairies had placed her in 
their care. 

But summer wore away and the leaves be¬ 
gan to fall from the trees and the brown nuts 
rattled down on the ground. Marie often 
helped her little squirrel friends to gather up 
their winter store of nuts. Now a child who 
is touched by the fairy charm never suffers 
from evil nor weather; but the fairies thought 
it best to move the little earth child’s bed into 
a hollow tree where the little bear brothers 
had slept the year before. Here she would 
be protected from the wintry winds and from 
any harm that might come. 

Sharper and sharper grew the winds and 


THE FAIRIES AHP THE EARTH C HILD 


browner and browner grew the earth. All 
the green leaves and grass had gone and the 
little friends had to search harder for their 
food. But in spite of all this, little Marie was 
warm and happy under the fairies’ care. 
One night as she went out with them, she 
heard a long deep blast of a horn. The fairies 
all stopped and listened. 

“He has come and is calling us,"’ said the 
fairies. 

“Who?” timidly asked Marie. 

* Jack Frost has come to the Ice Cave where 
he lives.” 

“Please take me with you,” said little 
Marie, “I want to see Jack Frost.” 

The fairies said she might go as far as the 
Ice Cave with them and see them start off, but 
that she could not go with them to work. On 
and on they went, singing and dancing with 
Marie in their midst until finally they saw the 
lights of the Ice Cave. How it did sparkle and 
gleam in the moonlight! Standing in the door 
to welcome them was Jack Frost himself. 

Very tall he looked, with long white hair 
and a huge white beard that came almost 
down to the ground. He had a white robe all 


90 


MT MAGIC STORTLAHD 



He Handed Each Fairy a Very Small Pail. 


trimmed in white fur and looked so sparkly 
and frosty that Marie laughed in glee. 

“Now, my little helpers,” said he, “all sum¬ 
mer you have danced and played. Now it is 
time to get to work. All the windows must 
be painted by morning so that when the little 
earth children arise, they will see the pretty 
frost pictures on the window-panes.” Quick¬ 
ly, he handed each fairy a very small pail full 
of something white and shining and the tiniest 
brush one can imagine. 

“Now start off,” said he, “and do your 
very best work.” 

Away scampered the fairies and left little 
Marie in her snug little nest while they swiftly 









THE FAIRIES A HD THE EARTH CHILD 91 

rode away on the moonbeams to the town 
across from the forest. Swiftly and surely 
they did their work, painting with their tiny 
brushes the lovely ferns and lacy flowers that 
we always see on a frosty morning. 

Now the fairies cannot paint the windows 
until the house is quite dark. They had been 
over the windows of almost the entire village 
when they found one little house with a bright 
light. For quite a while they waited but the 
light shone steadily on and, fearing that day¬ 
break would catch them, they crept up very 
shyly and looked in. 

There sat an old lady with her head bowed 
on a small table, crying as if her heart would 
break. They listened very hard to catch what 
she was saying and this is what they heard, 
“Oh, my little Marie, my darling La Poupee, 
where are you this cold, cold night? How 
your poor old grandmother wants to see 
you!” 

Upon hearing these words the fairies 
opened their eyes very wide, for they knew 
that this was their darling little earth child’s 
grandmother. How could they bear to give 
her up? Yet, as the fairies can never bear any 


92 


Mr MAGIC STORTLAHD 


sadness nor crying, they decided they must 
bring her back. 

Quickly, quickly they hurried away and 
so swiftly did they bring Marie that before 
she knew what had happened, she found her¬ 
self lying on her grandmother’s bed in the 
little white house. With a rose-petal kiss the 
fairies bade her farewell, just as Madame de 
Rossett opened her eyes and saw her little 
Marie. 

The streaks of dawn were already show¬ 
ing and with wild haste the fairies rushed 
away; and that is why Madame de Rossett’s 
windows were the only ones in the village 
where the beautiful frost pictures were not 
seen. But Madame never knew, so supremely 
happy was she that her lost little La Poupee 
was once again in her arms. 






The Enchanted Island 
An Ocean Tale 

Far out in the Pacific Ocean there was a 
wonderful island, so far out of the path of 
ships that no white man had ever found his 
way to its lonely shores. Here grew all kinds 
of tropical fruits and brilliant flowers, and 
bright birds flew in and out among the palm 
trees. 

One day the monkeys, swinging undis¬ 
turbed in their leafy shelters, stopped their 
chattering and looked with frightened eyes at 
the figure of a young man slowly walking 
along the shore of the island. 

Very wearily he trudged along, for he had 
been battling with the waves of the ocean 
ever since his ship went down four days be¬ 
fore. Clinging to a raft he had drifted hither 
and thither until, almost lifeless, he had been 
washed ashore on this lonely island. Almost 
starved for lack of food and water, he began 


93 



94 


MY MAGIC STORYLAHD 


to look about him. Soon he came to a little 
stream of clear, cold water, and stooping 
down, he drank and bathed his burning face. 

So weary was he that even after this, he 
lay down in the shelter of the trees and was 
soon in a deep sleep. He did not know how 
long he slept, but when he awoke he sat up 
and began to look about. Just as he started 
to rise, he heard a slight rustle, and looking 
around, he saw what he could hardly believe 
was real. 

On a large flat stone shaped like a table 
was a huge palm leaf and on this were various 
articles of delicious food. There was a small, 
cooked fowl, something like a quail, all 
nicely browned and still hot, and some little 
loaves of bread, not like the bread we have, 
but very good indeed. In addition, other 
strange dishes and some wonderful berries 
and fruits that he had never seen before were 
there before him and, as he ate, it seemed 
to him that food had never before tasted so 
good. Where it came from he puzzled to 
know, for there seemed to be no one at all 
on the desert island. 

He walked, wondering where he was and 
how he should ever get away. The sun’s 


THE EHCHAN.TED ISLAND 


95 


rays began to slant in the west and he began 
to think about a place to spend the night, 
for he did not know whether wild beasts or 
some savage tribes might inhabit the island. 
As he had no gun or weapon with which to 
defend himself, he began to look for a safe 
place to sleep. 

Darkness came on and just as he was about 
to lie down where he was, he saw a tiny 
light in the distance. Not knowing where it 
would lead him, he stumbled along until he 
came to a very small house made of the 
smooth logs of palm trees with a sloping roof 
of beautiful brown bark. From the tiny 
window the light shone steadily, guiding him 
on his way. Timidly the young man knocked 
upon the little door. No one answered, 
though it seemed to him that he heard a faint 
rustling just as he did when his magic food 
appeared. Slowly he opened the door and 
looked about him. 

Such a cheery little room as it was! In a 
tiny fireplace a very small fire was lighted; 
for while the heat was great during the day, 
as evening fell, the air grew chilly. A seat 
made from bamboo, a wonderful bed made 
from the same material and a little table com- 


96 


Mr MAGIC STORTLAHD 


pleted the furnishings of the room. On the 
table he again found delicious food and here 
and there about the room were large bunches 
of brilliant flowers, making it a bower of 
beauty. 

Thinking, of course, that the owner of the 
home would presently return, he sat down in 
the bamboo chair and waited. As time passed 
and no one came, he was so weary that he 
decided to try the white bed and no sooner 
had he lain down than he was fast asleep. 
So soundly did he sleep that he heard noth¬ 
ing that went on all the night. In the morn¬ 
ing, nothing seemed changed, but on the flat 
stone where he had left the crumbs of his 
evening meal, food was again set out—a de¬ 
licious breakfast. 

By this time the young man decided that 
there was something very wonderful about 
this place; but he did not then know that it 
was an enchanted island. Early next morn¬ 
ing he started out again to explore and 
though he wandered about the whole morn¬ 
ing, he saw no signs of any human being. 

“Now,” said the young man, “since I have 
no one of my own to talk to, I will have to 
make friends with the birds and animals.” 



He Stumbled Along until He Came to a Very Small House. 








































































98 


MY MAGIC STORTLAHD 


He began at once to speak kindly to them 
and offer them bits of food. Though very 
shy at first, they soon began to know him, 
and by and by, around the little house the 
beautiful birds would gather. Some sang in 
the early morning more sweetly than any 
birds the young man had ever heard; while 
the beautiful parrots became so tame that he 
taught them to talk to him. Now and then a 
chattering monkey would swing into the little 
doorway and sit on his shoulder as he ate 
his food. 

Now the young man had studied all about 
different minerals and stones and was known 
as a very fine geologist, and naturally, he 
began to search around the island in the hope 
of finding gold and silver, or perhaps, some 
precious stones. Knowing that he could not 
succeed very well without some tools with 
which to dig, he set about to make some out 
of pieces of bone, flint and other materials, 
such as he had read about in his boyhood 
days in the Indian stories so dear to his heart. 
With these crude tools he now set to work. 

For many days he carefully searched and 
was about to give up the idea of finding any¬ 
thing of value, when right in the centre of 


THE EHCHAHTED ISLAND 


99 


the island, he came upon many huge, white 
rocks. Quickly he went from one to another 
and with the aid of his sharp tools he was 
enabled to dig out what might prove to be 
very fine specimens. Taking them home with 
him, for now the tiny house was all the home 
he had, he planned to examine them more 
carefully. 

After his midday meal he took out the 
findings of the morning and to his amaze¬ 
ment, found them to be precious stones of 
wonderful size and beauty. Day after day, 
the young man worked, cutting and polishing 
his precious jewels. He always managed to 
keep busy and everything was done for his 
comfort by the little invisible people of this 
enchanted island. Yet so lonely was he at 
times for someone to talk to and care for that 
he became very sad indeed. 

One day as he sat just inside his doorway 
polishing his most beautiful stone, clear as 
crystal and in color like the blue-green of the 
sea, he was suddenly aware of a tiny fleck 
of color moving in the heart of his sparkling 
gem. Very closely he gazed and to his 
amazement, he at last made out the form of 
a tiny maiden, stretching out little arms to 


100 


MY MAGIC STORYLAMD 



He Was Suddenly Aware of a Flec\ of Color Moving in the Gem. 


him as if beseeching his help. What wonder¬ 
ful treasure had he found and how could he 
release this little maiden in the blue-green 
stone? Carefully, he wrapped it up, never 
letting it out of his sight for a moment, and 
always planning how he could get the little 
maiden out of the stone. 

During the lonely nights he pondered but 
still no solution came to him. One morning, 
just as he sat down to his breakfast, he laid 
the stone in front of him. At the same time 
his fingers touched a bit of paper. Picking it 










THE EHCHAHTEDISLAHD 


101 


up he read these words, which surely must 
have been written by the fairy folk: 

“Deep within this crystal stone, 

Lovely maiden all alone. 

Stretch thy little arms toward me 
And call the fairies’ help to thee.” 

On the other side was written: “Midnight 
by the sea” 

“Surely,” said the young man, “this must 
be the magic key to break the charm.” 

Hardly could he wait until the night came, 
when carefully taking the precious stone, he 
could go forth into the moonlight down to the 
white, sandy shore of the sea. 

At the appointed time, he knelt down upon 
the sand and placing the stone in front of 
him, repeated the words of the fairies. Slowly 
the glittering gem began to crack and fell 
into a shining little heap as the maiden came 
forth. Instead of the tiny little lady he had 
heretofore seen, she at once became a beauti¬ 
ful young woman standing by his side. Surely 
the fairies had sent complete happiness to 
him. 

Hand in hand they walked along the beau¬ 
tiful sea and each told the other how they 
came to be on the enchanted island. We are 


102 


MY MAGIC STORYLAHD 



They Decided to Stay Forever. 


told that a ship soon came to rescue them and 
they went back on a visit to their far-away 
homes; but they finally found their way back 
to the enchanted island, which they loved 
more than any spot on earth and where they 
decided to stay forever. 








How Santa Glaus Lost His Whiskers 
A Santa-Claus Land Tale 

“My, but I am tired!” said jolly Santa 
Claus to his wife. It was summer time and 
was slightly warm even up in Santa Claus 
Land. During the months when the sun 
shone brightly Santa Claus had to work very 
hard to make millions and millions of toys 
for the boys and girls by Christmas time. 
When the winter months came on, the sun 
stopped shining and then not even with his 
glasses, could Santa Claus see to do much. 

All the brown-eyed dolls had been finished 
and Mrs. Santa Claus was working on the 
dolls with pretty yellow hair and blue eyes. 
It is she who makes every curl that the dolls 
have in their hair. Sometimes she has to sit 
up quite late at night to get it all done. The 
toy automobiles were almost finished and also 
the coasting cars. The blades of the knives 
were all in neat piles to be put into handles. 


103 







104 


MT MAGIC STORYLAMD 


There was one whole room with little electric 
trains for the very good little boys. 

Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus live in the far 
North in a very snug, cheerful little house 
with a big open fireplace and bright lights. 
Not far away is a building, so very large, one 
wonders what it could possibly be. Now 
this is the Toy House. Each kind of toy has 
a separate room; and every time the toys are 
almost gone Santa Claus starts to work to 
fill each room again. It seems impossible 
that Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus can do all 
this work by themselves; and it would be, 
were it not for the strange folk that help 
them. 

So far north that no one but Santa Claus 
ever sees them, live the Ice Gnomes. These 
little people are his very best friends. They 
make all the pretty glass marbles. Not even 
Santa himself has ever seen them at work. 
But one little Ice Gnome told Mrs. Santa 
Claus that they catch the colors from the 
rainbow and put them into balls of ice. Then 
by waving the magic wand, they become so 
hard that not even heat will melt them. Be- 



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Mrs. Santa Claus Was Wording on the Dolls. 
















































































































































































106 


MY MAGIC STORYLAKD 


sides the marbles, they make all of the dolls’ 
eyes, but no one has ever been told how they 
do that, not even Mrs. Santa Claus. 

Sometimes there would be a loud noise and 
when Mrs. Santa Claus rushed to the door, 
there would be her jolly old husband testing 
his toy guns and cannon to be sure they 
would all work before the children got them 
at Christmas time. Very, very tired was he, 
but it was not yet time for him to take a 
good rest, for all the toy balloons were piled 
in flat heaps waiting to be blown up. Santa 
and Mrs. Santa blew and blew until the room 
was filled with balloons of all colors, merrily 
bobbing up and down. 

Soon both were so tired that Mrs. Santa 
Claus retired to the house to lie down; while 
Santa lit his big pipe and sat down on a 
bench where the sun was shining brightly. 
He puffed and puffed and grew sleepier and 
sleepier until at last he slipped from his bench 
onto the soft ground and lay there with his 
eyes tightly closed. 

Now most little children know of Santa 
Claus’s famous reindeer. We surely have not 
forgotten their names. Dasher and Dancer 


HOW SAHTA CLAUS LOST HIS WHISKERS 107 

were always put ahead of the others because 
they were the swiftest runners; and next 
came Prancer and Vixen; then Comet and 
Cupid, followed by Donner and Blitzen. 

While Santa was at home, he tethered his 
deer in a big field of iceland moss, for this was 
the food they liked best. They ate it just as 
we have seen horses and cows munching grass 
in the fields. 

Santa Claus was very fond of his reindeer, 
for they had carried him on many a long 
journey. All over the world wherever the 
snow falls at Christmas time, these faithful 
little travelers transport their beloved master 
with his sleigh full of toys. We may hear 
the clatter on our own roof on Christmas 
Eve. The next morning we can look out 
to see their tiny footprints in the snow. 

Now Vixen was a rather mischievous little 
fellow and had to be watched. He was 
always up to some prank; thus when anything 
happened, the blame was always put upon 
him. Sometimes he really meant no harm 
at all and he loved Santa Claus better than 
anyone in the world. 

Now this was the strange thing that hap- 


108 


MT MAGIC STORTLAHD 



In a Twinkling He Had Chewed Off All of Old Santa's Whiskers. 


pened. While Santa Claus was soundly 
sleeping, the deer kept grazing nearer and 
nearer the house and Vixen, seeing what he 
thought was a more tempting bunch of moss 
than that upon which he had been feeding, 
stretched out his long neck. In a twinkling he 
had chewed off all of old Santa’s whiskers. 

With a wild bound Santa Claus leaped to 
his feet and when Mrs. Santa Claus heard his 
distressed cries from the yard, she knew 


















HOW SANTA CLAUS LOST HIS WHISKERS 


109 


something dreadful had happened. Soon she 
caught sight of her usually merry husband; 
and imagine her surprise when she saw what 
had happened to his beautiful long beard. 
She tried to comfort him in vain. 

“For,” said Santa Claus, “the children will 
never know me without my whiskers.” 

Almost beside themselves with worry, for 
they knew quite well it was too near Christ¬ 
mas for a new beard to grow, Mrs. Santa 
Claus wondered how she could help her hus¬ 
band. After an hour or two of very hard 
thinking, she exclaimed, 

“My dear, I think I know what to do. 
Just wait a minute.” 

Off went Mrs. Santa Claus to the Toy 
House and before one would believe it, she 
was back again with a false face which she 
had made and to which she had glued long, 
white whiskers, just like the ones Vixen had 
chewed off. Quickly Santa Claus fastened 
it on and going into the house, he looked into 
a mirror and saw a face just like his own, 
merry and red. Best of all it had his lovely 
snow white whiskers. 

And that is why, little folk, we see in the 


110 


MY MAGIC STORTLAKD 


toy shops Santa Claus masks with snow-white 
whiskers; and if we were allowed to peek 
under Santa’s mask, we should also see his 
short, ragged beard which was all that Vixen 
left. 




The Angel of the Silver Heart 
A Noble-Heart Tale 

One cold day in December Susie Lee and 
her little brother Joseph started for the city. 
They had walked some distance before they 
came to the car-line where their long ride be¬ 
gan. How happy and excited they were, for 
they were going to see the windows of the 
great stores with all the beautiful, shining 
Christmas things. To make their joy com¬ 
plete, they were to buy some presents with 
the money for which they had worked so 
long. 

The children lived on a farm some miles 
from the city, where their father and mother 
toiled from morning until night. No matter 
how hard they worked the crops never seemed 
to prosper, for the ground was very poor and 
never brought forth abundant harvests. 

Very early in the morning, even by lamp 
light, the children had to get up and do their 


in 


112 


MT MAGIC STORrLAHD 


morning work before going to the little school 
house; and during the short winter days many 
of their afternoons had to be given up to help¬ 
ing their father and mother. How dearly the 
parents loved the little brother and sister! 
How often, too, they sighed at not being able 
to do for them the things they wished. As 
only a penny a day came to each child for the 
work they did, their little pile of money in the 
bank did not grow very rapidly. 

When they were quite small, their grand¬ 
mother had given them a small bank in the 
shape of a lighthouse with a tiny glass win¬ 
dow at the top. Early in the fall, the two 
children had gone each night and put their 
pennies in the tiny slot at the top of the little 
lighthouse; they would listen to the pleasant 
tinkle as the pennies fell one by one on the 
little pile already there. 

Each child had planned to take his own 
pennies and buy for the other a Christmas 
present. Often they had dreamed at night of 
the things they wanted and now the great day 
had come for them to buy them. The next 
stop would bring them to the great shopping 
district. Susie Lee pressed the button and 
as the car stopped, the two children timidly 


THE ANGEL OF THE SILVER HEART 


113 



Susie Could Hardly Tear Herself Away from a Beautiful Baby Doll. 


mixed with the throngs of merry Christmas 
shoppers. 

How beautiful everything seemed with the 
green and red decorations and the shining 
tinsel and bright colored balls and candles! 
Susie Lee could hardly tear herself away 
from a beautiful baby doll with a long dress, 
dainty knitted cap and tiny woolen mittens 
just like a living baby. Pressing her face quite 
close to the glass, she saw the price, then 
quickly brushed away a tear and went on to 
the next window where little Joseph was wist- 



















114 


MY MAGIC STORTLAHD 


fully gazing at a pair of skates. Each child 
knew that these gifts cost far more than his 
little fund of pennies could buy. 

On and on they went, looking into all the 
windows, until they stopped at a place where 
the prices of the articles were more suited to 
the amount each had to spend. They had 
made a plan to go in one at a time and make 
the purchase so that neither would know 
what the other had bought until the happy 
Christmas morning. Now, just as Susie Lee 
was about to open the heavy door to walk in, 
she saw a very old man leaning heavily on a 
cane. How poor and sick he looked, how 
white his hair and how bent his back. The 
children looked up into his face and he smiled 
down at them and spoke to them kindly. 

“Can’t we help you home?’’ said the kind- 
hearted little girl. 

But to this question, the old man said, 
“My dear children, would that I had a home 
where you might take me; but I have long 
been sick, and now my money is all gone. 
Just this morning, I spent my last money, and 
tonight I have no place to go.’’ 

This made the children feel very unhappy, 



They Saw a Very Old Man Leaning Heavily on a Cane. 



































116 


MY MAGIC STORYLAHD 


and Susie Lee whispered something to her 
little brother. 

“Oh, J oseph,” said she, “suppose that he 
were our father. Let us give him our money 
and do without our own presents.” The chil¬ 
dren then pulled out all of their pennies and 
emptied them into the old man’s hand. 

“Take this and get a place to sleep to¬ 
night,” they said. 

With a radiant face the old man thanked 
them, but before bidding them goodbye, he 
placed in the hand of each child a tiny silver 
heart. 

“Keep this with you always,” said he, and 
quickly disappeared from sight. 

At first the children said nothing. All their 
Christmas hopes were gone and yet a feeling 
of happiness seemed to come over them. 

“Never mind, little sister,” said Joseph, “I 
will make you a Christmas present.” 

And Susie Lee thought she, too, could do 
the same for him. But soon the short wintry 
afternoon wore away and the children took 
the car for home. 

Mother was at the window watching for 
them and as she saw them coming up the 
walk she wondered where their packages 


THE AN.GEL OF THE SILVER HEART 117 

were. Soon they came bounding into the 
room and when she asked about the presents 
they showed her the little silver hearts and 
told her the story of the old man. Tears came 
into her eyes, not tears of sadness but of joy 
that her children had been so unselfish. 

That night as they dropped in the daily 
penny there was a faint light in the tiny glass 
window at the top of the lighthouse bank and, 
although the children wondered, they said 
nothing to their mother. 

The days went swiftly by and the children 
were happy and gay, always making the most 
of their simple pleasures. Often in the after¬ 
noon they would hurry home from school and 
with baskets on their arms, would run to the 
woods and gather acorns for the pigs to eat. 
As they filled the baskets, they would keep a 
sharp lookout for any sign of fairies, for they 
were firm believers in the wee folk of the 
forest. 

One day their mother told them they might 
have the whole afternoon to play. So they de¬ 
cided to take some of their precious pennies 
and buy an apple apiece at a small country 
store about a mile from the farm. This would 
be quite a treat, for at this season of the year, 


118 


MT MAGIC STORYLAMD 


it took five whole pennies to buy just one 
apple. Merrily they skipped along until they 
reached the store and just as they were de¬ 
ciding which apple looked the finest, they 
heard the storekeeper saying: 

“No, ma’am, we can’t let you have the 
bread without the money.’’ 

A poor woman was standing nearby with 
a heavy basket of clothes at her side. 

“But I will bring you the money when I 
deliver this basket of laundry and get my 
pay,” said she. 

“Sorry, ma’am, but the store will be closed 
by the time you return and you will not have 
a chance to pay me.” 

Sadly the poor woman picked up her basket 
and went out of the store, thinking of her 
little ones at home who would have to go 
without any supper. 

“Let’s buy a loaf of bread for the poor 
woman,” said Joseph. 

“Instead of our apples,” answered Susie 
Lee. 

With great haste, they purchased the bread 
and went running after the woman who was 
walking rather slowly under the heavy weight 
of her basket. It was not very long before the 


THE AHGEL OF THE SILVER HEART 


119 



Joseph Quickly Placed the Loaf in the Basket. 


swift little feet had almost caught up with 
her. Then the children wondered how they 
could give her the bread without her knowl¬ 
edge, as they did not want her to know they 
had heard what was said in the store. 

Finally they found themselves just a few 
yards behind her and Susie Lee decided to 
stop and speak to her. 

“Can you tell me where the school house 
is?” asked the little girl and as the woman 
turned around to point the way, Joseph quick¬ 
ly placed the loaf in the basket. Thanking 
her, they ran away as fast as they could. 

That night when the two pennies were 
dropped in, the light in the little window of 







120 


MY MAGIC STORTLAHD 


the lighthouse bank glowed brighter than be¬ 
fore, but still the children said nothing. 

Spring came in all its beauty when the trees 
blossomed and the birds sang their sweetest 
and all nature seemed to take on new life. 
The children dearly loved the flowers and 
trees and the little birds and animals and 
never tired of hearing the nature stories that 
the teacher told them. 

One day she showed them a most beauti¬ 
ful book, filled with wonderful pictures and 
stories of animals, birds and flowers. Susie 
Lee and Joseph were allowed to hold the 
book in their hands and look at the beautiful 
pictures. 

That night they told their father and 
mother about it and how they would rather 
have that book than anything else in the 
world. The father asked how much it cost 
and when the children told him, they had 
no idea that they would ever get enough pen¬ 
nies not even by Christmas to buy it. 

To their great surprise the father said he 
would advance the money and buy the book 
when he went to the city the day before 
Easter. 

At this the children danced with joy and 


THE AJiGEL OF THE SILVER HEART 


121 


could hardly wait for the time to come, and 
at the appointed time, Susie Lee and Joseph 
were at the car-line to meet their father and 
receive the book. 

What a grand time they had that night. 
Their mother let them stay up a whole hour 
past their bed time to look at the book. Next 
morning was Easter and the children decided 
they would take their treasure for their little 
friend Harry to see. 

Harry was just Joseph’s age and lived on 
the adjoining farm. When a small child he 
had had a very bad fall and was now very 
lame, never able to run around like the other 
children. 

“Good-morning, Harry,’’ they said. “We 
have brought our wonderful book for you to 
see.*’ 

How the pale little face lighted up as he 
turned the pages with his thin little hands 
and what a wonderful smile came over his 
face as he looked at the pictures of his little 
woodland friends. 

“Oh!” said he, “if I had a book like this, 
I don’t believe I would mind being lame, 
for I could sit here all the day and learn of 
all these wonderful things.” 


122 


Mr MAGIC STORTLAHD 


Susie Lee looked at her brother, they both 
swallowed very hard and then she said: 

“Dear Harry, we are well and strong and 
can get about to see the flowers and animals. 
You keep the book for your very own.” 

What a look of joy came over the little 
lame boy’s face! Quickly, then, the others 
ran away, neither child speaking, so great had 
been their sacrifice. 

That night there were no pennies to go into 
the bank, for it would take many weeks be¬ 
fore there would be enough to pay their 
father for the book—but through the window 
of the little lighthouse there streamed such 
a brilliant light that the children took it away 
lest their mother should ask them about it. 

The little light made them think of a won¬ 
derful scheme and Joseph said to Susie Lee: 

“Let’s take the little lighthouse to light our 
way to Fairyland. Mother will not care if we 
go just for a little while; and the fairies will 
surely be out on Easter.” 

So when the house was all quiet, the chil¬ 
dren slipped silently out and were soon in 
the beautiful moonlight. 

At first they were afraid to go into the 
woods but with the aid of the little light, they 


THE A HGEL OF THE SILVER HEART 


123 



With the Aid of the Little Light, They Went Farther and Farther . 


went farther and farther. Just as they were 
about to give up hope of seeing the fairies, 
they heard a small voice at their feet, and 
looking down, saw a tiny little creature all 
dressed in a sparkling frock of shining dew- 
drops. 

“Children,” said she, “I am looking for a 
little boy and girl who always carry with 
them a silver heart.” 

So astonished were the children that they 
could scarcely answer. Could she possibly 
mean themselves? 

“Good fairy,” said Susie Lee, at last find¬ 
ing her voice, “We each have a silver heart 






124 


MY MAGIC STORYLAMD 


that a very old man gave us at Christmas time 
and told us to keep always.” 

“Indeed you must be the children that the 
angel told me of,” said she, “and yes, the 
little light is from the lighthouse bank.” 

The children were almost too surprised to 
move. 

“What angel told you, O fairy, and who 
knows about our little lighthouse bank? Not 
even our mother knows,” the children told 
her. 

“Never mind,” said the fairy,—“I will take 
you to the angel,” and through the woods 
they went. 

Soon they saw a wonderful light and in 
the midst of the light was a beautiful angel. 

“Do not be afraid, little children,” said the 
angel. “You do not know me now but per¬ 
haps you soon will; I am the Angel of the 
Silver Heart. Show me the hearts that you 
have carried with you.” 

As each child held out the little heart that 
the aged man had given them, they saw that 
it had grown much larger. 

“Look,” said the angel, “and you will see 
a tiny spring.” 

The children pushed the spring and in- 


THE AHGEL OF THE SILVER HEART 


125 


stantly the little hearts sprang open and inside 
lay a gleaming jewel. 

“Dear children,” said the angel, “I am the 
old man to whom you gave your all on that 
cold December day. Ever since I have 
watched you and each time you did a noble 
deed the little light gleamed brighter and 
brighter, just as you two children have bright¬ 
ened the path you have trod. Take these 
jewels as a reward from the Angel of the 
Silver Heart, and remember that as long as 
you keep the little light burning, there will 
always be the jewel in your heart. God bless 
you both on this glad Easter day.” 







































































































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